A/N: Sorry that I've taken so long to update, real life has been getting in the way. This is just a short one but as someone left a review commenting that the chapters I'd been posting were too long, it shouldn't be a problem! I'd really appreciate it if you'd let me know you're still out there and haven't given up on me and I may well have another chapter for you either this evening or tomorrow. Thank you for your patience.

o-xxx-o

She'd resolutely refused to open her eyes even though she'd been awake for quite some time. Not having the slightest idea what to expect from him was making her nervous and the comfort of her own bed seemed far more appealing at that moment than facing another day. Would he still be moody and depressed or would the total meltdown he'd experienced the night before have helped him get through the difficult patch he'd been going through? She was hoping and praying it would be the latter

She'd been so exasperated with him lately... His attitude and irritability combined with the frustration of work making her wonder if she'd made the right decision in returning to D.C. at all but when he'd literally broken down in her arms, all the doubts had evaporated and for the first time, she'd truly grasped the sheer intensity of what he was going through. Rewarding herself with another half-hour's lie-in, she snuggled down further under the covers and tried to turn over but someone had other plans and she felt the duvet being tugged off again. Smiling to herself, Sue pulled it back and before long she was involved in an all-out tug-of-war with Levi but worried the material would rip under the strain, she grudgingly capitulated and stared in disgust at the Golden Lab.

"Okay, okay, you win. I'm up." He pulled them again. "Does Jack want me?" When the dog didn't move she shrugged. "Guess not. Do you need to go out?" As she watched, his tail began to wag furiously and he looked towards the door. "Alright..." She sighed resignedly. "You know you can be a real party pooper sometimes. Just let me get dressed."

o-xxx-o

Wanting to make sure that she was fully fit for what was to come, she had taken the long way to the park, allowing the breeze to blow away the remaining cobwebs of sleep as her companion frolicked and chased the birds and squirrels until he was worn out. Then returning to the apartment, she walked directly to the main bedroom, smiling softly when she saw that Jack hadn't moved an inch while they'd been gone and appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Deciding it would be better to let him waken in his own time, she made her way to the kitchen to feed Levi and make a light breakfast for herself.

Having eaten and cleared everything away again, she found herself with nothing more to do around the apartment so she set up her laptop on the table and popped one of the surveillance disks she'd brought home with her into the slot, in the hope she'd find something useful on it.

o-xxx-o

While she worked, Jack had stirred and was lying quietly, feeling just as apprehensive as she was. Unlike most of the things that had been going on around him recently, the events of the night before were crystal clear in his mind and coming to terms with what had happened was proving difficult. If anyone had asked, there would be no way he could describe how he was feeling. There was an emptiness inside him but strangely it wasn't unpleasant as such, just different...

Last night he'd experienced so many emotions... Anger, rejection, remorse, fear and despair being just a few... There had been a raging storm inside him, quite literally... Thunder, lightning and a huge deluge of... what? Self-pity..? Pain..? Frustration..? Anger with everyone and everything around him, even with God himself for that matter... And a selfish jealousy that the lives of all his friends and colleagues went on as normal while his had come to a grinding halt. And now it was spent, there was nothing left but exhaustion both physical and mental and yet somewhere deep inside there was still a spark, a voice telling him not to give up... to try one more time... but he couldn't do it alone... He needed something more... Needed to feel that there was a real reason to put himself through it all again... Not his job or playing the sports he loved but something he could touch and feel. Something to hold on to...

He needed someone to really care, someone to love him and pick him up when he stumbled but more importantly, someone to care about. He'd been here before and built barriers to protect himself from even the possibility of being hurt, especially after what had happened with Allie, but last night a small crack had appeared and when she'd held him...

She'd told him to let it all out and she'd been right about that too. It was time to draw a line and stop fretting over the things he couldn't do and memories he'd lost. Time to concentrate on a future that he was lucky to have and be thankful for it.

So what if he couldn't chase down bad guys the way he used to, he could still help put them away. Conduct interviews, co-ordinate things from the bullpen and maybe one day if he was really lucky, he'd be able to go out into the field again. And did it really matter that he couldn't recall past cases? There were files, weren't there? The hardest things he'd have to face would be returning to the torture of physio and not being able to remember the personal stuff of the past five years, especially between himself and Sue, but she was here now and for the next six weeks and he wasn't going to waste another minute of the time he had left with her.

Feeling more positive than he had in a very long time, Jack shuffled up the bed and into a sitting position before calling Levi. The apprehensive, empty feeling he'd woken with having been replaced by nervous anticipation and a little trepidation thrown in for good measure.

o-xxx-o